So, after arriving on Sunday to a warm welcome, jetlag caught up and I was sound asleep by 7:30pm. Despite my best efforts to sleep through to sunrise, I was fully alert by 3am and chock full of excitement. Not wanting to wake my housemate, I lay in bed listening to the quite sounds of the night slowly turn into the rush of the day. First it was a the faint chirp of a bird here an there scattered throughout the lush landscape of my neighborhood, but that quickly turned into an insistent, high pitch call that seemed to come from just outside my window. I must not have been the only one who heard because by 5am I could hear cars start up and the traffic begin to build. Since I didn't have to be at work until 1:30pm I decided to snatch a few restless moments more before crawling out of bed to investigate my new surroundings.
Slipping into the dining room I was greeted warmly by my roommate while she oversaw a handyman who was working on fixing the washer. A few minutes later her boyfriend came in, introduced himself held a lively conversation while R (that's what I'm gonna call my roomie from now on), fixed us both some delicious arepas smothered with cheese. They both had to get to class, so as they rushed out the door I steeled myself for what I had just learned would be a cold shower. Apparently the hotwater heater broke not long ago, requiring a new gasline, which is not the quickest fix. So, for now, I'm stuck with icy rinses.
As soon as I had washed of the grim of my 18 hour trip, I took a good look at google maps and set off to explore. Ostensibly I was attempting to find the climbing gym and do some grocery shopping, but really I just wanted an excuse to check out the neighborhood. Stepping outside to a beautiful 70 degree day, I wandered off down the main road, which, despite being full of taxis, buses and zooming motorcycles, as quite pleasant. This was due to the fact that not only does this particular street have a sidewalk, but it is also home to a nicely paved bicycle path. Walking along the wide, shaded path, I was immediately struck by how clean everything is here. I remember walking around in Nicaragua and being disgusted by how much garbage, especially plastic bags, lined all the streets, but not here. I didn't see a speck of litter on my whole journey, not even when I passed by 3 blocks worth of mechanics shops. In fact, I saw several racks of garbage and recycling bins placed strategically along the way. Oh, and a few neatly piled bags of garbage, but those were being systematically picked up by couples pulling wooden carts piled high with sacks of rubbage. Or rather, the guy was pulling the cart, while his woman invariably rode on top of it.
About 3km from home, I still hadn't found the climbing wall that I had thought was in the neighborhood, so I turned around and zig zagged my way through smaller streets heading back in the direction I had come. Although these streets didn't have bike paths, they did generally have nice, shaded sidewalks, which was relief since the temperature was beginning to rise. Strolling along at a leisurely pace, I didn't have time to stop for groceries, but instead went straight home where my house mate was waiting to accompany me to lunch.
Changing into nicer clothes and gathering all my papers for my first day of work, R and I walked around the corner to a little restaurant tucked away across the street from the National University. Ordering a plate of rice with meat, corn and salad, we sat down and chatted while enjoying our meal. Everything was delicious, despite costing less than $4. Once we were done, R very generously offered to take me to work so I wouldn't get lost, and we headed towards the bus station.
The bus station is located on the Regional, which is the largest road in town, with at least 4 lanes in either direction, and a river dividing the two sides. After watching several buses go by, R flagged one down that looked exactly like all the rest, other than a small white sign that said Caldera (I think). Hopping on, we squeezed into the only 2 seats left and I did my best to peer out the window past the 2 people on either side of me. Driving past most of the city on our way, I got a good view of the taller structures, but couldn't see much else. We a metro station that had a raised walkway over the highway and river. Marching across, I was rewarded with a gorgeous 360 deg view of the valley that houses the city of Medellin.
By this point, I was very grateful to have a companion, as I never would have found the entrance otherwise, but as soon as we made it past security, we found ourselves on a beautiful college campus. The buildings all have courtyards between them, and as we walked past the library, which is itself a very impressive building, we passed through a small grove of trees, each dripping with orchid blossoms growing on their branches. I will have to take some photos to pass along, just as soon as I'm comfortable enough not to feel like a complete tourist doing so.
Reaching the other end of campus, we located the building with Urbam's offices, but had to do several passes before we found the correct room. Not too surprising since there the door was closed with no lights on. Apparently my new employers hadn't expected me to be on time! Not to worry, R and I enjoyed the view from the terrace while she pointed out the libraries she's working on documenting. Half an hour later, all three of my new colleagues showed up fresh from their lunch break and began introductions. Once everyone had become acquainted, my lovely chaperone issued directions for my return journey and headed back to her own work (which I'll have to tell you more about soon!).
The next hour or so was spent talking about what Urbam does, my background, and how they'd like to me to help out. Without going into too much detail, the basic gist is that Urbam is in the process of becoming a hub for discussions and actions related to Urban and related environmental initiatives. What they'd like me to do is figure out the best way to create an organized, but open, forum in which to connect projects and people in different areas. aka, develop the framework for a website that will bring together all the divergent disciplines that relate to urban living in some sort of coherent manner.
The rest of the afternoon was spent wandering from one office to the next trying to sort out keys, ID cards, and foreigner registration. By the time we finished up it was already 5pm and I was exhausted. Not only had I walked more that day than I had for a very long time, but I had also spent the last 6 hours speaking entirely in Spanish, which, as those of you who speak other languages know, and be both a satisfying and incredibly draining exercise. So, I jammed myself into the metro with the 50,000 other people on their way home and took a very close ride back to my neighborhood.
A quick dinner at home with R and I was done, only to be woken by the traffic at 6am. Leaving the house by 8, I found my own way to the bus stop and proudly managed to get off at the right place! I spent this morning reading up on Urbam and Medellin, had lunch with my co workers and then took a taxi ride to look at an option for living closer to the University. Well, closer, but not quite as convenient as it turned out. We spent the ride there stuck in traffic, but eventually arrived at what I was surprised to see was an incredibly spacious home. With 3 half levels cut into a shallow slope, this house had 3 massive bedrooms, 3 large studies, 3 bathrooms, 2 living rooms, a kitchen that could comfortably hold 30 people and beautiful outdoor patio. Although lovely all around, it turned out to be a little out of my price range, and is lacking a bus route anywhere nearby. Where my current commute takes about 15 mins there and 20mins back by bus/metro (can't take the bus back because of the highway/river), the house I looked at today would have been at least a 25min walk, and uphill the whole way home. Besides, I've become rather attached to my current roommate in our 48hrs together, so unless something truly amazing and cheap comes along, I think I might have to stay. Of course, I might keep looking at places just to get to see more of the University neighborhood and the obviously nicer homes that occupy it.
Anyway, since we had a very long lunch break as a result of apt shopping, I ended up staying at work til 7pm, which made the metro much roomier, but my belly much grumblier. Having satisfied my hunger, and described my recent adventures in way too much detail to all you lovely people, I am off to bed. Have to be at work before 8:30am tomorrow (which I'm hoping means I can leave a little early and search for a different climbing gym on my way home =)
After the luxury of mozzying across the country and hanging out at home, I had gotten used to a laid back schedule. Not anymore!
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